The present invention relates to materials for packaging articles and more particularly to a reusable enclosed bag containing small particles for packaging and cushioning articles in a container.
There are numerous techniques that have been employed to package articles of a fragile nature including today's preferred techniques of placing the article in a packaging container filled with resilient pieces of impact absorbing material such as foamed plastic or enclosing the article with layers of "bubble type" sheeting. All techniques have the objective of protecting the article against breakage primarily occurring during shipping and handling. Other conventional prior art techniques include those described, for example, in various patents such as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,222,843; 3,412,521; 3,515,267; 5,316,148; and 5,149,05.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,222,843 describes a technique of placing unfoamed material in a bag and placing the bag around an object positioned within a container and then introducing a foaming agent into the bag, causing the material to expand, engage and immobilize the article within the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,412,521 discloses a method of for packing articles enclosing an article with sealed bags containing foamed or expanded particles in a compressed stage and then puncturing the bags to allow the foam to expand and immobilize and cushion the article within the packaging container.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,515,267 details the use of a flexible bag that is filled with free flowing bodies such as foamed or expanded polystyrene beads having crush resistance properties and then sealed. The bags containing the beads are then stuffed between the article and container thereby providing an energy absorbing package in which the bags conform to the shape of the space between the article and container.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,149 describes a porous envelope which is filled with expanded polymer beads and used as a stuffing in a container containing an object to be protected. The particles become compressed against each other when the envelope is stuffed into position but become free flowing again when the envelope is released.
An object of the present invention is to provide for an easily fabricated but light weight packaging bag which is reusable.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide for a light weight packaging bag that readily molds to the shape of the article to be packaged but can easily be returned to its original shape and reused.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide for a light weight packaging bag that is semirigid and is readily and conveniently stacked before use, can be molded into shape of the article to be packaged, will retain the shape of the article after the article has been removed, can be easily returned to its original shape and/or remolded to the shape of still other articles to be protected against impact.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide for a method of making a light weight reusable packaging bag that retains its shape when being handled under normal conditions.